By Marie-Amelie George
Polls show that LGBTQ rights will likely factor into most Americans’ pick for president this November as they choose between former Republican President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat.
A March 2024 survey by independent pollster PRRI found that 68% of voters will take LGBTQ rights into consideration at the polls. Fully 30% stated that they would vote only for a candidate who shares their views on the issue.
It is no coincidence, then, that LGBTQ rights issues feature prominently in the party platforms.
The Republican Party’s electoral promises include cutting existing federal funding for gender-affirming care and restricting transgender students’ participation in sports. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party platform proposes to outlaw discrimination against LGBTQ people, including passing the Equality Act, which would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in housing, health care and public accommodations.
As a legal scholar who has written extensively on the history of LGBTQ rights, I have seen that the clearest indication of how a politician will act once in office is not what they promise on the campaign trail. Instead, it’s what they have done in the past.
Let’s examine their records.
Trump restricted some LGBTQ rights
Trump and his running mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, are both relatively new to politics, so their records on LGBTQ rights issues are slim.
Trump enacted two policies restricting LGBTQ rights early in his one term in office. The first was his 2017 executive order Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty, which reinforced that federal law must respect conscience-based objections to comply with the First Amendment. This order indirectly imperiled LGBTQ rights because many LGBTQ rights battles are fought over whether conservative Christian businesses run afoul of anti-discrimination laws when they refuse to serve same-sex couples.
A few months later, Trump banned transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. armed forces. He ultimately revoked the directive, implementing instead a new policy that allowed existing transgender soldiers to remain in the military but barred new transgender recruits from enlisting.
Vance has opposed trans rights
Vance, a one-term senator, has accrued a record of trying to roll back the rights of transgender Americans during his short time in public office.
Between 2023 and 2024, Vance introduced or sponsored five bills opposing trans rights. One seeks to restrict gender-affirming care for minors by imposing criminal sanctions on doctors who perform such surgeries; another aims to do the same by exposing physicians to civil liability for either prescribing gender affirming hormones or performing surgeries.
Christian Monterrosa/AFP via Getty Images
Another Vance bill would expand health care workers’ ability to make conscience-based objections to transgender rights. One more would amend Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on sex in education, to limit transgender student participation in athletics.
Vance has also tried to pass legislation that would stop the Department of State from issuing passports with an unspecified “X” gender designation, a policy that launched in 2021. Gender-neutral passports allow transgender, intersex and nonbinary individuals to carry identity documents that reflect their gender identity and avoid what can be significant problems getting through airport security with misgendered IDs.
Congress has not voted on any of these proposals.
A ‘legislative priority’ for Harris
Harris and her vice presidential pick, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, have both made LGBTQ rights a legislative priority throughout their long political careers.
Harris initially took public office in 2003 as San Francisco’s district attorney. In that role, she established a hate crimes unit that prosecuted violence against LGBTQ youth in schools. She also trained prosecutors nationwide to counter the “gay panic” and “trans panic” defenses in court, which is when lawyers attempt to justify violence as a fear-based reaction to the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Harris was elected California’s attorney general in 2011 and declined to defend the state’s ban on same-sex marriage when opponents challenged the law’s constitutionality before the U.S. Supreme Court. She also joined amicus briefs supporting transgender bathroom access after North Carolina barred transgender people from using bathrooms that did not match the gender on their ID.
Harris, however, did not unequivocally champion LGBTQ rights. In 2015, she opposed two prisoners’ request for urgent gender-confirmation surgery. She has since called for a “better understanding” of transgender health needs.
As a U.S. senator from 2017 to 2021, Harris sponsored bills proposing to better address distinct LGBTQ issues in health care and the criminal justice system. She also sponsored five Senate bills to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations. Other bills she sponsored focused on LGBTQ youth, aiming to prohibit discrimination in child welfare programs and barring federal funds from supporting so-called conversion therapy of LGBTQ teens.
The Senate did not vote on any of these bills.
As vice president, Harris has been part of what advocates describe as the most pro-LGBTQ administration in U.S. history.
Since 2021, President Joe Biden has issued multiple executive orders to combat discrimination against the LGBTQ community, including by eliminating the Trump-era restrictions on transgender military service. Biden also signed into law the Respect for Marriage Act, which changed the federal definition of marriage from “a man and a woman” to “two individuals.” The statute ensures that the federal government would continue to recognize same-sex unions if the Supreme Court ever reversed its decision to legalize marriage equality.
Walz: Ally in the statehouse
Harris’ vice-presidential pick has a similarly extensive record backing LGBTQ rights.
As a U.S. representative from 2007 to 2019, Walz supported efforts to grant federal benefits to same-sex couples before marriage equality became federal law. He also co-sponsored many of the House versions of the same bills as Harris.
As Minnesota’s governor, Walz has issued several executive orders promoting LGBTQ inclusion and equity and banned conversion therapy for minors. He also declared Minnesota as a “trans refuge state” that will not enforce laws interfering with children’s access to gender-affirming care.
Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via Getty Images)
Starkly different records
If elected, Trump has promised to cut federal funds for public schools that “push … gender ideology” and “keep men out of women’s sports.” Harris pledges to “defend the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride.”
As citizens head to the polls in November, they can be confident that, on this topic at least, the candidates mean what they say.
Marie-Amelie George is Associate Professor of Law at Wake Forest University,
The Conversation arose out of deep-seated concerns for the fading quality of our public discourse and recognition of the vital role that academic experts could play in the public arena. Information has always been essential to democracy. It’s a societal good, like clean water. But many now find it difficult to put their trust in the media and experts who have spent years researching a topic. Instead, they listen to those who have the loudest voices. Those uninformed views are amplified by social media networks that reward those who spark outrage instead of insight or thoughtful discussion. The Conversation seeks to be part of the solution to this problem, to raise up the voices of true experts and to make their knowledge available to everyone. The Conversation publishes nightly at 9 p.m. on FlaglerLive.
JimboXYZ says
Mail-In ballot arrived, voted before Hurricane Milton. No lines, no drama. Checked on line, the status was that it was counted. All that remains is the final results, expect that several days after Election Day, D’s gave us that in 2020, then gave us inflation. Currently there are only 45 Presidents in American History, the last 4 years we’ve had the entire Democratic Party running the White House crap show. I hope that my vote is the difference that ends anything Harris-Walz before that gets off the ground. The D’s ended Biden-Harris based upon polling statistics. If Trump is such a threat to Democracy why is the DNC & not a primary process determining their candidate ? See the R’s let the vote counts determine that in a primary. The D’s arrived at Harris on technicalities, stretching the rules as a polling indication blows for direction of the wind that day. There’s saving Democracy in action for you ? Your vote as a Democrat is worthless until Nov 2024. The D’s were so uncertain that Harris internship under Biden was that inadequate they made her their 2024 candidate. Appointed & anointed, there’s saving Democracy in action for you ?
Skibum says
Excuse me but your comment, culled most likely from the nonsense makers at fauxinfotainment nuze, somehow suggests that Kamala Harris’ status as the Democratic presidential candidate is illegitimate. Did you forget that when Joe Biden was elected as President that Kamala Harris was also on that ballot, and that Americans voted for her as well, and that is how she became Vice President and ultimately the nominee for president this time around? What do you think would have happened prior to Biden, when Trump was president, had Trump at first stated his desire to run for re-election, and then backed out during the campaign, giving VP Pence an opening to run in his place. Or if the current president had died in office? There are scenarios that potentially could happen, and that is exactly why America has both a president AND a vice president. There is absolutely nothing untoward or un-democratic about a current VP who was already voted into office on the same ticket as the president, and who now is that party’s nominee for president, DESPITE the fairytale conspiracy theory that it is somehow a backroom deal, or a scam, or that she is not allowed to be the nominee because “nobody voted for her”, which is nonsense, it is ridiculous, it is laughable, and if MAGA cannot come up with something better than that kind of asinine BS, then those who peddle such foolishness really need to sign up for adult education classes on civics or U.S. Government, where actual facts are taught… you won’t find many actual facts if you continue to just tune in to fauxinfotainment nuze every day!!!
BillC says
Are you a Fascist? The following is excerpts from “What Is Fascism?” by The Council on Foreign Relations 4/23.
“Over the past few years, people have thrown around the term “fascism” pretty loosely. So what exactly does fascism mean?” “Fascism is a mass political movement that emphasizes extreme nationalism, militarism, and the supremacy of the nation over the individual. This model of government stands in contrast to liberal democracies that support individual rights, competitive elections, and political dissent.”
“In many ways, fascist regimes are revolutionary in nature. They advocate for the overthrow of existing systems of government and the persecution of political enemies. However, such regimes are also highly conservative in their championing of traditional values.”
“Although fascist leaders typically claim to support the everyman, in reality, their regimes often align with powerful business interests.”
“Fascist regimes cultivate images of their leaders as great figures to be loved and admired. This cult of personality is often perpetuated through mass media and propaganda.”
“Fascist leaders believe in the supremacy of certain groups of people based on characteristics such as race, religion, ethnicity, and nationality. Hitler and his Nazi Party, for instance, advanced the idea of Aryan (essentially white Germanic Christian) racial superiority. The most extreme example of this ethnocentric nationalism manifested in the Holocaust. During the Third Reich, the Nazis executed a state-sponsored and systematic campaign of murder and persecution against those deemed inferior. At least eleven million people were killed, including six million European Jews and five million gay people.”
Skibum says
Excuse me but your comment, culled most likely from the nonsense makers at fauxinfotainment nuze, somehow suggests that Kamala Harris’ status as the Democratic presidential candidate is illegitimate. Did you forget that when Joe Biden was elected as President that Kamala Harris was also on that ballot, and that Americans voted for her as well, and that is how she became Vice President and ultimately the nominee for president this time around? What do you think would have happened prior to Biden, when Trump was president, had Trump at first stated his desire to run for re-election, and then backed out during the campaign, giving VP Pence an opening to run in his place. Or if the current president had died in office? There are scenarios that potentially could happen, and that is exactly why America has both a president AND a vice president. There is absolutely nothing untoward or un-democratic about a current VP who was already voted into office on the same ticket as the president, and who now is that party’s nominee for president, DESPITE the fairytale conspiracy theory that it is somehow a backroom deal, or a scam, or that she is not allowed to be the nominee because “nobody voted for her”, which is nonsense, it is ridiculous, it is laughable, and if MAGA cannot come up with something better than that kind of asinine BS, then those who peddle such foolishness really need to sign up for adult education classes on civics or U.S. Government, where actual facts are taught… you won’t find many actual facts if you continue to just tune in to fauxinfotainment nuze every day!!!
BillC says
Try reading again. The statements are from the Council On Foreign Relations. Who do you think matches the template of fascism more- Kamala Harris or Trump/MAGA? Please note the last part that says the Third Reich killed 5 million gay people. IMO many people don’t know or haven’t thought about what fascism really means.
Skibum says
Sorry, Bill. My comment above was not supposed to be a reply to your well thought out comment. I don’t know if I hit the send button once too many times or what, but my comment was posted twice… the first time where it was intended, and a second time as a reply to you, so please just disregard this as an innocent mistake on my part… I might have had too much coffee this AM! :-)
BillC says
Skibum- no worries! There was a benefit- another opportunity to ask voters to think about fascism and their vote.
Laurel says
BillC: Skibum’s response was a duplicate of the response he gave to Jimboxyz. Sometimes a comment appears to not upload, only to find out after you try a second time, it did.
Wallingford says
Trump has total disregard for the LGBTQ+ Community and JDVance has even less. So if you don’t want Vance as President then don’t vote for Trump since current behavior indicates that he will not be able to survive four years. Harris has empathy for the Community especially from her days in California politics.
Laurel says
According to Politifact.com, just 0.5% to 1.6% of the U.S. adult population identities as transgender, with the younger people slightly higher. Yet, Republican politicians find this a worthy platform to run on. 🙄
What is up with Republicans and genitalia? Their candidate, who was found guilty of sexual assault, and boasts about “..grab ’em by the pussy,” is promoting the government monitoring and controlling women’s uteruses, and wants to control who has sex with whom (between consulting adults)…not that he has much concern over his own actions. Now he is praising the size of Arnold Palmer’s penis, much to Palmer’s daughter’s chagrin! Low class behavior on Trump’s part.
WTF?
What about real issues for the middle class besides what’s in their pants? This focus is extreme, useless to the majority, and downright weird.
Meanwhile, his loyal following stand by while the music plays 🎶 “It’s fun to stay at the YMCA” 🎶 and he ignores questions.
My God, so clueless!
Skibum says
Well, Laurel, you probably already know what they say about old men who drive flashy red sports cars. Personally, I think the orange one has a fixation on Arnold Palmer’s biological endowment out of jealousy… or maybe some latent tendencies, who knows. Either way, I want to dismiss that vomitous thought as quickly as it came to me! And did he NOT have a clue that the song YMCA is, in fact, THEE GAY ANTHEM?!?!?! I laughed so hard just watching that farce play out on live TV, wondering how in the hell are anyone in their right minds supporting such an imbicile? It boggles the mind.
Laurel says
I agree with Tillerson, Trump’s Secretary of State, that Trump is a f*****g moron.